


The Sharp Knife Of A Short Life

by Sanjuno



Series: Sanjuno's Shamelessly Self-Indulgent Self-Inserts [3]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Gen, Reincarnation is the source of our PTSD, Self-Insert, Shingo is a troll, Shingo is why the Youma can't have nice things, The Author Regrets Nothing, due to Shingo technically being an OC, no Canon only Chaos, the Senshi and Shingo remember being killed, this is also true of the Author, this is true in canon, this understandably has side effects
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 21:44:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20881163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sanjuno/pseuds/Sanjuno
Summary: It was a normal day at work, and then suddenly shots rang out.Next thing I know, I'm face to face with a Roman God and being informed of my new glitter infused Destiny. And no, I'm not allowed to decline his offer.My employment contractdefinitelydoes not cover this sort of situation.(Or: Someone very similar to the Author gets waylaid on their way to the afterlife by the Roman God Janus and shunted into the life to Tsukino Shingo before Luna ever twitches a whisker in Juuban. Also, Shingo may or may not be a witch, but he'scertainlymore than a little overprotective of his adorable sister.)





	The Sharp Knife Of A Short Life

**Author's Note:**

> A completed prompt from my tumblr SI game, where I asked people to pick a theme/character/setting/AU. This is only the second one I've filled and I can already _tell_ that they're going to get wildly out of hand. XP
> 
> _Prettytricks: SI prompt, Sailor Moon?_

=/=

One of the things that Security _always_ mentions when you start a new job and they hand over your access badge is that you need to completely close the doors behind you after passing through. A small piece of very _important_, very good advice that is sadly ignored more often than not once people settle into their positions. Unfortunately, I failed to realize my coworker’s hubris until the first shots were fired.

‘_Oh shit._’ The thought formed independent of the gibbering panic and pain as the horrifically loud set of gunshots tore me out of my chair and flung me to the ground. ‘_This is a brand new suit_.’

I finished bleeding out about three minutes later.

/…/

Standing naked in the void, skin glowing like a star, my shocked mind could only offer up yet another inane thought. “Telling my mother that I wanted my ashes turned into a diamond and mounted on a sword for my heir to wield as they avenge my death because I only intended to die when I was killed was _supposed to be a joke not a prophecy!_”

“**_Too bad. Find comfort in the fact that your last wishes will be carried out as you intended_.**” The human-shaped figure stepping out of the aether was a familiar stranger, their expression both sympathetic and uncaring.

“… Honored Janus.” Was I supposed to bow? Offer a handshake? How exactly were the dead supposed to greet a Roman God of duality and change? “I gotta say you’re _not_ who I was expecting to run into roundabout now.”

“**_Who better than I to meet with one who so accepted the necessity of change, of growth and balance? Yours may not have been a grand story, but it was a true one, and in the telling of it you have encouraged many changes._**” The god of beginnings and endings grinned at me with one side of his face and frowned with the other. No wonder the sculptors always put two faces on his statues. I would _not_ want to be the carver responsible for recreating that expression. Complicated was a bit of an understatement. “**_I find this useful for my purpose. Enjoy your new beginning, child of the Eclipse, Warrior of Dawn and Dusk._**”

“… Eh?” I was the _most_ confused. Was there supposed to be an explanation somewhere in there? “Wait, what the heeeee-olyshitwhatthe_fuck_!”

Glitter. Glitter _everywhere_. Mixed with glowing bubbles and fireworks and no, really, what the _fuck_?

/…/

So.

Reincarnation was a thing. That actually happened to people. To me, specifically, in this case. If anyone was wondering.

It took awhile for my memories to come back, after I was reborn. Which was actually a good thing because I needed those first few years to absorb a new first language. The confusion generated when I was six and my English resurfaced was only funny in retrospect. At the time it was just frustrating and slightly embarrassing.

Although once the initial assimilation was over with it was nice to be able to code switch between English and Japanese. Almost like a consolation prize for my new lease on life. Whee.

Oh, also I was a boy now. My eyes were still grayish-blue, my hair was still a dark ashy blond, but I was also Japanese and male. It was an _interesting_ mix of old and new features coming together to make ‘me’.

… Probably Janus’ fault, now that I think of it. Good thing I never put any stock in gender or sex. Yay for the unexpected benefits of being Ace-spectrum!

Nah, the gender reassignment was nothing. What really bothered me was that I was the _younger sibling_. It was odd and wrong and upset the universal balance of what I knew to be true. I could handle the educational pressure of being a ‘child genius’. I could handle the overbearing social reinforcement of gender roles. I could even handle the loss of everything I had once known and everyone I once loved. (Granted, I did this by compartmentalizing and being slightly emotionally stunted, but what works, works.)

I could not handle someone trying to ‘big sister’ me.

Thankfully, my new sister was… a flake. A ditz. A complete and total dunce. I loved her dearly and I would tear out the tongues of anyone who spoke badly of her, but she had almost no academic intelligence at all.

I had expected it, really. After all, just because I was reborn was never going to change such a fundamental part of her character. Her emotional and interpersonal intelligence was still off the charts, and her charisma was frankly ludicrous. I still had a hard time accepting _anyone_ who had proof positive of their own ignorance _not_ taking steps to correct it.

It was not like I wanted perfect grades from her. I just wanted enough effort put in to achieve _competence_. There was a difference between ‘I _cannot_ do this’ and ‘I _will not_ do this’. Saying no once you have proved that you _can_ do something is fine, but saying no without even _trying_ sticks in my craw something fierce.

Knowing that a failed test paper plays a big part in Fate’s future machinations for my sister was also upsetting. Would pushing my sister to study ruin the future? Would she still meet the people she needed to, still make the connections that allowed her to survive and win, even after all my meddling?

I had no way of knowing. I could only trust that her Destiny would come for her. No matter what I did, or how many random first encounters I needed to contrive to bring it about.

“Shingo! Are you ready to go yet?” A voice I had been familiar with long before my reincarnation called for me before my sister poked her head into my room. “Come _on_, Shingo! I didn’t melt my brain studying all month just for you to flake out! I _earned_ this shopping trip and you promised to come with me!”

“Ehh, don’t pull out your hairbuns, Usagi.” Grabbing my satchel off the back of my desk chair, I grinned at the future Queen of the World and winked. “Being this perfect takes work, you know?”

“Shingooo.” The eleven-year-old girl who was going to save the world rolled her eyes at me and pouted. “Why are you like this?”

“Because not being me would be _boring_.” I stuck my nose up in the air with as much pomp as I was capable of in a seven-year-old body. “Now let’s go! If we play this right Mama will finally cave and get us the bedazzling gun so we can ‘enhance our creativity and encourage mental flexibility’.”

“Okay!” Usagi giggled, happily taking my offered hand and swinging our joined arms as we headed down the stairs. “Do you think we can convince Mama to let me get my ears pierced too?”

“Eh, maybe.” I thought about the refractive properties of crystals and energy resonance as I glanced at my sister. The Imperium Silver Crystal, the Shintennou’s stones, Hearts Crystals, Star Seeds… crystals were game changers in this world. Powerful ones. Tagging Usagi with a set that most enemies would overlook… yeah. That was a good idea. Good job, self, excellent plan. I nodded. “I want my ears pierced too. We have an undeniable right to freedom of self expression so long as we do so in a safe and healthy manner.”

Usagi stared blankly at me for a moment, nose scrunched up above pursed lips. “You know I don’t understand you when you talk like that.”

“As long as you know what the words mean you’ll figure out how they go together eventually, Bun-bun.” Cheerfully unrepentant, I hauled my sister down the last stair. “Onwards! To victory and glory everlasting!”

/…/

Ignoring the dull throb in my earlobes, I admired the hoops I had chosen. Simple, elegant, unlikely to fall out unnoticed, and large enough to hold three gemstone beads. For myself I had convinced my mother to buy black tourmaline, lepidolite, and lapis lazuli. For Usagi I had picked out labradorite, selenite, and rose quartz. Not expensive stones, but powerful ones for the way their energies intersected and channeled power. Especially once I was done priming them as foci.

Abalone shell bowls with small, upwards facing mirrors at the bottom. A little water in the bowls, add some salt, and then four undyed candles in a circle, burning on the windowsill under the full moon. I watched the moonlight slowly gather in the stones, the smoke from the candles pulled down into the water. Within moments of moonrise, each bead started to glitter and shine more brightly than nature intended.

Satisfied that it was working, I turned back to the blade in my hand. It had appeared on my bed soon after my memories finished returning. It was ferociously sharp, and lighter in my hand than anything that size and made of metal should be. The hilt was too big for my seven-year-old self to wield effectively, but the sword was perfectly proportioned for my old adult height. Carved into the blade was ancient Latin that named the sword _VERITAS_.

“Beware the truth, for it is a double-edged sword, which cuts both ways.” I smiled, wiping the blade down to remove the excess oil. It was a magical blade, and probably did not need sharpening, but… better safe than brainwashed. “I do love a good pun.”

The milky diamond in the hilt flashed in the light, glowing like a lantern in my dim bedroom. It was hard to look at the sword sometimes, especially since I knew what it meant. I was magic, the sword was magic, my sister was the fucking _Queen_ of magic for the entire damn solar system. It was still hard to look at my funeral stone, _knowing_ that the diamond was formed from my ashes, and not feel cheated.

Violent deaths always leave something unfinished. I wonder sometimes, now that I have experienced that incompleteness for myself, how much of this resentment the Senshi felt after they knew of their past lives… and of the way the Moon Kingdom fell. At least, when the time came, I would be able to help Usagi deal with Serenity’s unfinished business.

“Sing, o muse! Of love everlasting!” I saluted the moon solemnly before I fed the blade and sheathed it, shrinking it down to a pen and tucking it away. “Sing, o muse! As the old tale is told anew!”

Nothing and nobody would be allowed to stand in my way. My sister was going to get her happy ending this time, and any assholes who tried to interfere with that were getting a death-sword to the _face_.

=/=

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a troll. Shingo's a troll. My personality in Shingo's body keeps him fairly In Character, to be honest. So at least there's that. XD


End file.
